03/09/17 03/09/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> my name is ravi ragbir. today am going into ice to be to deportation officer. what is going to happen when i go inside. be possibilities are a could allowed to come back, but the most scary is they will tell me to come into the offices and i family won't see me again. amy: in a democracy now!

exclusive, one of new york's best known immigrant rights advocates joins us on what might the his last day as a free man in the united states. we will speak to ravi ragbir of dust just before he heads for a check-in with immigration and customs enforcement. he fears he will be detained and deported, even though he is married to a u.s. citizen and has a u.s.-born daughter. then to a day without a woman. is for the indigenous women. today is for the black women. today is for the asian women in the latina women. women's daytional was marked across the world wednesday. here in the united states, organizers called on women to go on strike for a day. we will air highlights from protests in new york and washington. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. across the world, women and their allies rallied wednesday to mark international women's day. in the united states, organizers declared "a day without a woman," calling for a one-day strike and for boycott of stores. in prince george's county, maryland, the entire schooool district closed down after 1700 teachers asked for the day off. in new york city, thousands rallied outside trump international hotel and tower. speakers included linda sarsour, a lead organizer of the historic january 21 women's march on washington. >> i want you to understand that your statement you're making today is part of a long history of women who have led a social justice movement. what makes it to for now?

open sexist,n misogynist, anti-woman president. in may: the sarsour was one of 13 activists later arrested as they committed acts of civil disobedience outside trump tower. there were events marking international women's day worldwide. in bangladesh, garment workers rallied her higher wages and and and the sometimes deadly working conditions. in nigeria, women rallied against sexual abuse and kidnapping. in argentina, thousands rallied in the capital. today, we women say enough. it is a day when we are saying we are fed up with femicide, which are the most extreme expression of macho violence. we are also saying we have had enough of historical and of qualities that push us to be second-class citizens. amy: we will have more on nationwide actions on international women's day, including voices from the streets of a m major march in nw york, after the headlines.

in health care news, house republicans advanced a measure this morning to abolish the tax penalty imposed on americans who do not purchase health insurance. the move by the house w ways and means committee followed a mamarathonon8-hour datate, and came as republicans pressed for passage of what they're calling the world's greatest healthcare plan of 2017, which would repeal and replace the affordable care act. on wednesday, a broad coalition of nurses, doctors, and hospitals rejected the republican bill, saying in a letter to congress the legislation would add to the ranknks of the uninsured. the mounting opposition came as republican house speaker paul ryan vowed passage, calling the repeal of obamacare an act of mercy. that statement drew a sharp response wednesday from massachusetts dedemocratic congressman joe kennedy iii. >> there is no mercy in a systsm that makes health care luxury. therere is no mercycy in a couny that turns their back on the most need of protection --

elderly, p poor, sick, andnd suffering. it was no mercy in the cold shoulder to o the mentally i ilr the policy tha takakes the swea, tears, sacrifice of working americans shehed every day so ty might care for their families basic needs -- food, shelter, help for tomorrow. there i is no mercy that 2.6 million peopople will losese our jobs -- >> the chair recognizes the gentlelady -- amy: the legislation also faces opposition from some conservative republicans who blasted it as obamacare lite. republican senator ted cruz of texas predicted wednesday the bill lacked the support needed to pass the senate. politico is reporting donald trump's presidential campaign sent a former foreign policy adviser toto russia on the condition that he would not be an official representative for trump. the trip by carter page last july came just days before wikileaks began publishing thousands of emails taken from the servers of the democratic national committee -- a theft

democrats and many intelligence officials allege was carried out by russia. meanwhile, the white house blasted newly resurfaced reports that donald trump personally met russian ambassador sergei kislyak last april as disingenuous and absurd. "the wall street journal" report from april 26 noted that trump met the ambassador at a vip reception ahead of a major foreign policy speech by trump. a photograph by getty images shows the ambassador approaching his seat near the front of the invitation-only reception. the resurfaced report contradicts trump's claim at a news conference last month he hasn't spoken to anyone from russia other than a pair of post-election calls from president vladimir putin. in washington, d.c. the top , democrat on the house intelligence committee said wednesday he wants to interview the former british spy who authored a dossier alleging damning ties between donald trump and russia's government. california congressman adam schiff of california says he'll seek testimony from christopher steele, whose 35-page memo

alleges the compromising information could be used by russia to blackmail the president. most of steele's claims have not been verified. steele reemerged from hiding and returned to work earlier this week. congressman schiff also said this week his committee would accept donald trump's call for a congressional investigation into the president's unsubstantiated claims that president obama wiretapped trump tower ahead of november's election. >> we accept -- we will investigate this. the president has said that this is a scandal that dwarfs watergate, that his predecessor engaged in illegal wiretap of his campaign. that is one potential scandal. the alternative is a different kind of a scandal. and that is a scandal of a sitting u.s. president allllegig ththat his predecessor in gauged

in the most -- engaged in the most unlawful conduct. that is also a scandal, if those allegations prove to be false. amy: at ththe white house, press secretary sean spicer gave conflicting responses wednesday to questions about whether donald trump might have been wiretapped because he was under investigation. this was spicer's initial response. >> is the president the target of a counterintelligence investigation? >> i think that is what we need to find out. amy: but later in wednesday's news conference, an aide passed sean spicer a note. that prompted this statement from the press secretary. >> there is no reason that we have to think the presidedent is the target of any investigation whatsoever. amy: the white house signaled wednesday that former utah republican governor jon huntsman has accepted president trump's nomination to serve as u.s. ambassador to russia. huntsman is a former mormon missionary to taiwan who served as president obama's ambassador

to china before he left that post to run unsuccessfully for the republican presidential nomination in 2012. president trump's newly y revisd ban on refugees and travelers from six majority-muslim countries is facacing its first legal challenge. a federal judge in hawaii will hear a case brought by the state's attorney general. it charges trump's travel ban violates religious freedoms protected by the hawaiian and u.s. constitutions. the suit also claims the ban would hurt hawaii's economy and that it would tear apart families. the ban is set to go into effect on march 16. it prohibits travel for 90 days for residents of iran, libya, somalia, sudan, syria, and yemen. it also bans all refugees from resettling in the u.u.s. for at least four months. meanwhile, the united nations high commissioner for refugees is warning president trump's travel ban will compound the misery of migrants fleeing war,

poverty and persecution. , this is u.n. spokesperson farhan h haq. underscore refugees are ordinary people forced to flee war, violence, persecution in a home countries and in urgent need of life-saving protection. the wood high commissioner for refugees said it rights protection for people fleeing dedeadly violence and we'e're concerned this decision, though temporary, may compound the anguish for those it affects. amy: in syria, the trump administration has deployed several hundred u.s. marines armed with heavy artillery in advance of a planned fight against isis in the city of raqqa. the pentagon said a further 1000 troops were deploying to kuwait and could be b brought into thte battle if needed. the buildup came as the group save the children reporteded syria's nearly six-yeaear-oldd civil war has exposed d children to toxic stress that's leading to self-harm, aggression and suicide.

researchers found that two-thirds of syria's children have lost a family member, had their houses bombed, or suffered injuries from fighting. more than 70% of those surveyed said syrian children suffer from bedwetting and involuntary urination -- symptoms of toxic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. in somalia, the united nations is warning a worsenining drought risks plunging millions of somalis into famine. u.n. secretary-geral antononio gutteres made the warning during a visit to mogadishu. >> we have 6.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in somalia. that is a must of the somalia population. we have 333,000 c children whwhe malnourished and the r risk is o go upp to one million if there s not enough support to avavoid i. amy: gutteres is appealing for more than $800 millionon in emergencncy aid for somamalia.

israel's parliament on n wednesy advanced legislation that would silence the muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers in residential areas and prohibit early morning calls across israel and occupied east jerusalem. right-wing israeli lawmakers claim the call to prayer is noise pollution. many arab lawmakers tore up copies of the bill and were ejected from the floor of the parliament. this is israeli parliamentarian ahmad titibi. here in this house, we never interfered with any religious ceremony relating to you, to judaism. your act as a racist hazard. you interfere with the most sensitive issue for muslims and hurt the related -- religion of islam. amy: in guatemala, at least 21 people are dead after a fire ripped through a government-run shelter for abused teens. at least 40 other girls suffered burns in wednesday's blaze, which began when residents set mattresses on fire to protest

overcrowding and dismal conditions at the facility, which held over 500 teens in a center designed to house 400. in brazil, police have released a harrowing video showing six men assaulting a transgender woman who was found murdered last month, as police attempt to track down her killers. the cellhohone footage shows the meshouting homomophoc c sluras th k kick and d beat 42-yearar-d dandarara s s santos, before ththrowing her into o a wheelbao and carting her onto the side street where she was f found sht to dea.. dos santntos was one o of at let five transnsgender brazilians murdered last month. worlrldwide crime statitistics w that on n average one trtransger , persoois murdered every three days. and in north carolina, a district attorney will not bring criminal charges against a wake county police officer who was caught on video picking up a high school student and slamming her onto a concrete floor. 15-year-old jasmine darwin, who is african-american, suffered a head injury after the assault by

school resources officer ruben de los santos. the officer announced last week he is resigning from the policie force. and a clarification from the headlines, when proposed bill to repeal and replace the affordable care act is named the world's greatest health care plan of 2017. a separate measure is supported by house speaker paul ryan and most republicans. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show with the democracy now! exclusive. one of the world most well-known immigrants rights advocate joins us on what might be his last day as a freeman in the united states. ravi ragbir, executive director of the new sanctuary coalition of new york city. this morning, right after our broadcast, he heads for a check in with immigrations and customs enforcement in new york city. he plans to go to the meeting, even though he may not be released.

the usually predictable process of checking-in with immigration and customs enforcement as part of a regular supervision process has become a source of anxiety for many immigrants since president trump ordered changes to enforcement in january. in just one example, last week in phoenix, arizona, a single-father of three u.s.-born children had plans to celebrate his son's 17th birthday after a check-in meeting that he thought was to discuss his request for asylum. an hour later, juan carlos fomperosa garcia's daughter says officials "brought me a bag with his stuff and that was it." her father was deported the next day. meanwhile, otherer immigrants he gone to their check-ins and were released, as expected. no matter what happens this mornrning at r ravi ragbir's check-in, he will not go alone. as part of his work, has conducted trainings on how to

accompany people to their check-ins in order to show support and document what unfolds. he himself will be joined by faith leaders and elected officials, including several city council members and state senator gustavo rivera. just last month, ravi was recognized in albany with the immigrant excellence award by the new york state association of black and puerto rican legislators, given to those who show "deep commitment to the enhancement of their community." "the indypendent" newspaper recently featured him in a cover story called "walk with me," and a canadian broadcasting corporation film crew is following him this morning. ravi legally immigrated to the united states from trinidad and tobago more than 25 years ago, but a 2001 wire fraud conviction made his green card subject to review.

even though he is married to a u.s. citizen and has a u.s.-born daughter, the government refuses to normalize h his status. instead, immigration and customs enforcement has exercised prosececutorial l discretion to grant him a stay of deportation. his current stay lasts until 2018. but his 15-year-r-old criminal record makes him an easy target for reremoval. last night, his supporters and legal team met for one last time the fourth this morning's check-in. this is rhiya trivededi, a third year law student at nyu school of law who is helping represent ravi through the school's immigrant rights clinic. >> you can see that for many, many years, the ice office has rerecognized the outstanding contribution he has made to the community as a leader, as someone in the faith community and immigrant rights community. he is a very important person to a lot of people. they have recognize that and we

expect they will continue to do that. so we prepare for the worst and expect the best. amy: well, this morning, ravi ragbir joins us in our studio before he heads to his check-in. also joining us is his wife, amy gottlieb, a longtime immigrant rights lawyer with the american friends service committee. we welcome you both to democracy now! i know this is a really tough time for you right now. ravi, , talk about what you will do after you leave democracy now! >> well, i will add to the office. -- subway. amy: you're going underground. [laughter] >> that is true. would say,ome people why don't i go underground now go that is not an option here. i'm not going to do that. i'm going to immigration and customs enforcement. i am going to basically turn expectin an hope and

they will allow me to come back out. you mention the state of -- it expires in 2018. they gave me the stay, but as you have said, there are many instances that people have not -- have been taken away and end of deporter. amy: when you say you're turning yourself in, you're going for a check-in, which can be very routine for immigrants. >> it is a routine c check-in. it is like parole for an analogy. you go in to meet your deportation officer. he will make sure all of the information is correct. normally, we would walk out. but not in this instance. that is why can't you mentioned the accompaniment.

we partner people. they're able to get the support from the community. so they are not in this fearful treated withso get respect. amy: this is amazing because you really pioneered this accompaniment program for check-ins, which most people don't really think about, wheree people accompany and immigrant to check-in. >> people have been accompanied before, but we have had to have them understand what they need to do. their response in differenent scenarios. not only to o the check-ins, but to the court. a lot of times a lawyers will say, you don't need any family or friends. i'm a lawyer, i will get you out. minister oflly the the congregation, it makes a difference when inin that judg's eyes, there's such a large support and community here that

it makes a difference.e. freed. gotten people the judge has said, ok, you have won your case because of the large community support. it is unique to the sanctuary fore it is very important the immigrant as much as the -- amy: here there is no judge. you will meet with an chececk-in ice -- ice officer. >> a deportation officer. amy: do know the person? you have been doing this for years. >> i've been doing for many years, and maybe once it is the same deportation officer. i never know who i'm going to be meeting. sometime the officers are friendly. sometimes they are not. that uncertainty of who we're iing to meet -- before when had a two-year stay in 2014, the

officer said, ok, we will see you in two years. in 2016 when i went back to renew it, the officer said, i i will cuny near. there was no rhyme or reason why i had to go back and today. will say it is probably the best thing. we have to come inside. we will not be looking over my shoulder. wife and andravi's immigrant rights attorney. how long have yoyou been marrie? >> about six .5 years. we got neared in september 2010. amy: how long have you been in the united states? >> since 1990, just over 25 years. amy: how are you doing today? >> i am ok. we have been through this before. it does feel different. the feels good is outpouring of community support that we have right now knowing

that we honestly have the best legal team come the best organizing team on earth, a defense committee that is helping us china strategize about what to do if he gets taken -- to help us strategize or what to do if he gets taken in. we have been taking it one day at a time. feeling a anxious, not sleepingo well. at the same time, holding out hope that ice will continue the existing stay and that we have more time to continue real legal fullns to help ravi get legal status here. amy: you go in together -- it is him is like a dmv-like room, department of motor vehicles. you have the fox news news on the television. and your number is called? >> not a number, but we turn in paperwork to the window like a dmv window. for thel leave it deportation officer to pick up. the officer will come out and call me to the door and say, ok,

come back in in six months or a year. another scenario, he will call me in to say, i need to talk to you. and you will not see me again. amy: can you be with him during this time? >> i will be waiting. it depends if they bring him back or not. in previous years, they have allowed me back if they call him in for a quick conversation. it you just don't know. amy: so you could be taken and you just never see ravi here in this country again. >> it is possible. we have heard of times where a person when n you are a couple f years ago got taken in and he was accompanied by people we knew and they allowed them back there to say goodbye. so it is possible that they would do something like that. on thei said, it depends officer. it depends on a lot of different scenarios. >> that was the accompaniment program. the volunteers were allowed to speak, to be there. but it is a different era

now. what we e would have expected, e cannot expect anymore. amy: if president obama were still in office, under him, they granted you a two-year stay. although they said you had to come back this year, you would have another year until hoping to get another stay come as you work out your green card and your residency status. >> that's right. we would have expected to go in and it would the routine check-in will stop you would say what we have to say, they would say, we will see you back in another year. but even if there was another administration, we were expecting something similar. amy: let me turn to president trumpp s speaking just last mom. pres. trump: i said we will get the criminals out, the drug lords, the gang members. we are getting them out. general kelly, who's sitting right here, is doing a fantastic

job. i said at the beginning, we're ones, theet the bad really bad ones. we are getting them out, and that is exactly what we are doing. i think in the end, everyone is going to be extremely happy. amy: "we are going to get the really bad ones out." amy. >> for so many years working on these issues, we have been really struggling to eliminate this idea that there is a good immigrant about immigrants. that we have people who come to this country who are people, who have lives, that sometimes there's a grenell conviction when there is a vat act, but we want folks to build a look at the whole person and when you hear that kind of language of about getting the bad people out it stirs up something inside of me that -- that is not ravi. we're not talking about bad

people here. we're talking about people are part of our community's. that is rhetoric that hits people against each other. amy: ravi, you had a grenell conviction how many years ago? >> in 2000. wire fraud. working for a mortgage lender. amy: how long did you serve in jail? >> 2.5 years stop i was under house arrest before i was sent. so three years was under house arrest that i went to prison for 2.5 years and i ended up in detention for two years. amy: they y wanted to do for you right after that, but t you fout and w won. >> i fought that time we have been fighting it since then. , my is where the legal team attorney and my legal team, has been saying this process and i use air quotes because the process itself was completely wrong.

errors andnt to many the process. amy: i want to turn t to another case, speaking last month in houston, texas, after the father of two children was detained when he showed up for his annual check-in and almost immediately deported. >> my husband is not a criminal. my husband is a good man who works hard and provides for me and my children. already mamakes america great. you take him away from me, you have me going to welfare, food stamps. that is not the life that i want. i am not saying it is about life, but that is not the life i had or the life i want. amy: amy, you are the wife of ravi. your feelings right now as you head down to federal plaza? the two of you, as soon as you

arrive, will be holding a news conference. is that right? hundreds of people are expected. i went down to the offices at the judson church last night. there were scores of people there saying goodbye to you, ravi, being there to support you. making a whole big dinner. making signs. and in these last weeks, you have not stopped talking to people, advising them about what to do in their cases, taking phone calls, learning about ice raids throughout new york. to -- week, i went amy: new jersey. visible id six weeks after we talk to him and he called for a town hall. he expected 50 people. 1600 people showed up in a church that was only supposed to hold 500. those are the people allowed inside. there were many outside.

people are afraid. they need this information. yes, you are right, i have not got speaking. i've not stopped doing prpresentations because the immigrants themselves, the people who want to support them, the churches need to be ready to create a safe space. everyone -- we need to coordinate that. what you saw yesterday or last night was not a goodbye, but an informant dinner. we empower people through the process. they are afraid. most of them who made an appearance are undocumented themselves. because we have enabled to teach them how to deal with this process, they are strong and energized and motivated to speak up and also to move forward. so they will be down here today. amy: what is the jericho walk? >> it is a story in the bible

where they could not defeat the city. god said, welcome you cannot defeat the city by army, the follow my instructions and you will win. they were told to walk seven times around the city. after seven times, the walls can troubling down. there is a song about it. similarly, we have been doing the jericho walk since 2011, which started as a result or in response to sb 1070, the arizona law. we walked around the plaza seven times in silence. 26 federal plaza. we have also done it around supreme court. aroundple have walked the supreme court. we have walked around congress, the senate building. in silence. when the guards or the officers see us, they don't know what to think about as because we are

not saying a word. you know we are there for a purposeful sub similararly, the jericho walklk today will be dog that. amy: if you are taken, wherere would you be taken to? where are immigrants take into in new york city when they are detained? >> it could be a number of places. they could be taken to new jersey, hudson county corrections center. to jail orbe taken in upstate new york. any one of them i will be held and detained until they can put me on a plane. amy: amy, you are in immigrants rights lawyer. were in new jersey. these did tension centers mainly are for-profit detention centers. the elizabeth attention center i think is run by cca, corrections corporation of america. these for-profit jails are

enjoying massive profits sincece president trump was elelected. that's right. in new jersey, there i is one tt is private. that is the elizabeth detention center. there are county jails the cocontract with immigration customs enforcement and make tons and tons of money for the counties themselves. they celebrarate when they get thesese contracts bececause thee --d approximately $120,000 detainee.30 per day per putting county has over 900 beds. essex county joe, over 800 beds. we of people detained everywhere . profits are soaring. obama's a administration said they were going to stop using private prisonons in the federal prison system. we were pushing to have t that happen in immigration detention center. we got close to that, the attorney general sessions came retractedpletely

that. we are bacack to privivate priss and all leave e private companis that contract with public prisons that are making money on this. >> do you know how much it costs does when i was in attention, how much it cost to feed me for one day? $.75. you know how we knew that? they said they were spending too much and they wanted to bring that cost under $.45. the numbers were thrown out and we were seeing this. the prophets, because is low, but the profits are high. amy: have you packed? people often don't know they're going to be taken, but you confront this epic moment right now after being in this country for 27 years. how did you prepare for this morning? >> i did not pack. my wife has been telling me to clean up, but i have not done

that. i have ignored that. basically, how i have prepared is i threw myself into my work. i have been doing resin patients two and three times a day, sometimes speaking straight to congregations or churches. that is how i have dealt with this. last night you asked me how i felt. i told you i had no feelings because if i was going to feel something, i was going to feel tear and exciting. or andl that -- terr anxiety. i could not allow myself to kralev in a corner and die, which is where they want us to be. i had to continue doing the work and continue to share the as thence so that perverse person that i am, meaning i can go back to trinidad, feeling that fear i i also amargeted, able to speak and -- i am

privilegeged and i use this opportunity to highlight. amy: who will be speaking at the news conference today as this show ends that you will be holding outside 26 federal plaza? >> we have been told apart from , we have communities had -- amy: the reverend of the judsonn church with the new sanctuary coalition has its offices? >> that's right. she was one of the cofounders of the new sanctuary coalition of new york, but also of the national sanctuary in 2007. apart from that, there are a lot of elected officials who are coming to support me, to walk in with me. you have gustavo rivera, , the speakerlliams just confirmed she will be there.

amy: the speaker of the new york city council will also be speaking and accompanying you? >> yes. i don't know if she is accompanying, but she is speaking at the press conference. the comptroller is planning to be there. we've had two status only people who also want to speak. -- state assembly people who also want to speak. >> and noticeably woman in our state legislature -- our assemblywoman in our state legislature. amy: and together, you will walk into the ice office. >> together we will go through security. they make you take your shoes off, right? to get into the building. take your belt off. a lot of people who are going into that space do not have ids. they intimidate you from the beginning. when you go upstairs, you're having to hand in this paperwork and sit down incomplete terror because every minute that goes

past you are thinking, this is the day. you're sitting next to people who are facing that same trauma. feed off thats fear. you said down and you see the child and the wife who may , share in the heart rate that is happening because they are being ripped apart. it is hard for me as a person to see that. myself,ng through it but this is why we have the accompaniment training. we want people to see that s so they can take it back out and whereor true reform people can live in dignity. amy: do you see yourself as a role model? >> i do not want to think of myself as a role model because clouds where i need to be. i need to always b be aware even though i may have support, i have to think about those who do

not have support. i have to be ready to o think about the consequences of a policy change or someone who does not have that support. what you saw yesterday is those -- they are now speaking up and empowered to go and speak to the elected officials and advocate for themselves. and even know something may go wrong, they know as they go through this process, it will be good for them because they are ready for every step of the way. i do not want to be a role model, but i have been told i am. a makeup do you have a message for president trump? >> i will let my wife answer that. >> ooh. if only. god, i would desperately love for us to have a president who saw the humidity in every single individual and understood that

every person should be treated with dignity and respect. that is my message. and that all of our policies should reflect that. >> not only for immigrants, we're talking about he has been, you know, using other rhetoric that is targeting and causing others a lot of heat on the streets. we need to look at everyone as ring part of society -- being part of society that wants to walk together. everyone needs to be able to build that relationship. amy: i want to end it back in your basement where you were last night, the basement of the judson church in new york city 200 judith paez who was speaking in what could be your last meeting at the new sanctuary coalition. people were making banners for 26ay's jericho walk outside federal plaza. this is judith.

>> we have been making these banners yesterday. we had some a few weeks ago about doing this kind of art to represent what we are here in the sanctuary. we are fighting for our rights. not just a fight. it is not just a fight. it is something to show support, to show unity, to show strength in our communities that have suffering for the new governments, you know, the policies that are separating sufferingfamilies, are breakint many, many families in this city and many other places around the usa. >> that was judy paez. as we wrap up, this is when kids are going to school, but a lot of kids are afraid. their parents do not want to send them to school, afraid like

the video we just played that has gone viral of his dad taking his 13-year-old to school and he is arrested and she is weeping as she is filming it on her phone. what do you say to these families? are you finding that families are taking their kids out of school? >> we are finding they are taking their kids out of school. kids who are going to school, that many teachers and principals calling and saying, can y you -- >> what do you mean be on your rights? , ife used to say before they knock on the door, don't open the door. we don'tect this -- know what rights could be violated and we have to have everyone prepare for that. during this course, if you get captured, what do they need to do? did have to sign waivers so they have to go to the courts? note with people they will

get deported immediately. there is a process. that process could take months and even years. when i was in detention, i met someone who was there for seven years in detention. he still got deported, but he thatighting throughout seven years, hoping he could stay here. we will speak to the parents about the process, so they are not afraid. as i was saying, the principles called because those children are crying. they don't stop crying because they do not have their parents home. when they leave school and how does that environment facilitate learning? you think it only applies to the young children casino, 10 and under, but the elderly, the older children are feeling this also. everyone needs to know beyond the rights so they know how not to get caught and how to

navigate the process every step of the way. amy: all of the best to you both. we will continue to follow what hahappens to you andnd people co as we goacynow.org down to 26 federal plaza where you will hold your news conference and then you will make your way up into the ice facility. we will see what happens next. we hope to see you again, interviewing you as you come out and say how you felt coming out again as a free man. >> i hope so. i hope to be back your talking to. amy: thank you ravi ragbir and amy gottlieb. ravi ragbibir well-known immigrt righghts advocate, and execucute director of the new sanctuary coalition of new york city. he faces deportation when he goes to his ice check-in this morning after our broadcast. first, there will be a news conference and we will be covering that at 9:00 at federal plaza, right outside 26 federal plaza.

right at fully square. i know hundreds of people are planning to go. would we come back, immigrants rights, the muslim ban, reproductive rights -- all of these issues werere raised yesterday him and not only in the united states, but around the world in the united states it was called a day without a woman. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: that was music c recorded last night at judson memorial church in new york city at a gathering for ravi ahead of his check-in with ice today. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. women rallied around the world wednesday to mark international women's day. here in the united states, it was dubbed "a day without a woman," as organizers called on women to go on strike. in prince george's county, maryland, the entire school district closed down after 1700 teachers asked for the day off.

in virginia, the entire public school system of alexandria also closed after 300 workers requested the day off. officials in alexandria, virginia, said the school closing was unprecedented. >> for us, this is unprecedented. we have never had a case like this where we have had so many teachers call out altogether on one day. amy: some schools also closed in chapel hill, north carolina, and right here in new york city. also here, thousands rallied outside trump international hotel. speakers included linda sarsour, a lead organizer of the historic january 21 women's march on washington. >> so i want you to understand that your statement that you are making today is part of a long history of women who have led us in social justice movements. what makes it different now? now we have an open sexist, misogynist, and i woman president. amy: linda sarsour was later

arrested along with three other women's march organizers -- tamika mallory, carmen perez, and bob bland. meanwhile, thousands of people took part in a rally at new york city's washington square park. we turn now to voices from the rally. this is the black lives matter poet. today is for the indigenous women. women.s for the black today is for the asian women in the latina women. today is for the palestinian women and the iranian women. descendents ofe slaves. today is for the colonized women. today is for the lesbian women. eer women.or the qu

today is for the bi women. today is for the woman who don't dge about gender conformity. today is for the transit women, the poor women, the fat women. today is for the immigrants and the refugees and the migrant women. who willfor the girls become women, the victims of human trafficking women, the that who believe in gods you do not know women. today is about mentally delayed and the mentally ill women. today is for the incarcerated women and their families. up, from the nurses association, a union of 40,000 members.

>> 1911, slaves were resulted in the death of workers, mostly women. women exploited and murdered by their employers in the profit.ing surge for how many bodies does it take for loss to be enacted and those of us who bear witness and atrocities to build a movement for social justice? how about now? we need to transform those fires that take lives, to find the fire within us to transform our society, to ignite a fire around us to wake up folks to the fact that change only happens when we make it happen. constance.is i want to say i am also an immigrant. i am from jamaica. [applause] 1199.lso a unit member of

my case.ou might know some of emi be new to. it has been five years since i've been fighting for a count ability. officer richard hayes broke into my house and murdered my son if front of my six-year-old child and his grandmother. this system is so corrupt. the officer was charged with manslaughter one and manslaughter to. we have gone to gore for a whole year and the judge decided to throw out the case on a technicality. mohammed.e mother of mohammed was my son. nypd clearly evident the unjustly killed my son. mohammed was a muslim man, immigrant. to -- d

septemberook his life 20 5, 2012. gettabler hold no one -- accountable. individualist environmental activist. >> welcome. i'm a proud citizen. i want to say, i don't know if many of you know that the women's rights movement started with our women. it makes me so proud to say that. we have been invisible for far too long, and we are going to be invisible no more. today, againstng mother earth, is in direct

reflection of what is happening in our society. as we see the pipelines going forward -- [boos] right? this leads to more sexual violence against our women as these transient companies come in to our territories and abuse our women. [boos] so i am asking all of you to stand united. this does not just affect me, but all of our seven generations yet unborn that are looking up to us from under the earth and watching every decision that we make. our girls are watching us. we need to stand up for the rights of mother earth. ay: betty lyons speaking at day without a woman rally in new york. when we come back, we hear voices from the streets. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: performing an hour studio one of her songs on her latest album "the navigator" released ththis week. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

we continue our coverage from international women's day protests. in the u.s., dubbed a day without a woman. dena guster spoke to women washington square park. >> i came out with colleagues from our office. something that felt important to me was standing in solidarity with the women who do the work, that means the fabric of society stays together and i think they mentioned before, but all of the unpaid work that goes into society. >> this international women's day is the first one after donald trump's inauguration. what are your thoughts about his presidency so far as a woman? the firstlike -- thought was being terrified. and angry. really angry. angry that women are still having to fight for fundamental rights to own their own body and that any one other person should claim they have ownership over

that will have the right to determine what is right or you. we are humans. we should have the chance to be treated as such. i think then it turned into a desire to be active and to channel those feelings and thoughts into something productive and to be very sensitive. to an i've certainly lead that is not the same for everyone. >> i am a firm see student from long island university in brooklyn. obviously, i'm a woman. particularly, i am a muslim woman and i'm very proud of that. i'm here to support all women. as a muslim new yorker, soon-to-be working woman, i feel like we're underprivileged and a lot of areas in society. we are speaking just days after donald trump announced his

travel ban. your response? >> just like the first time, it will come down a second time. that is what i have to say about it. people are resisting. quick my name is miriam and this is isaac. we're here to support the various televisions that come together to celebrate international women's day in this manifestation, we hope, of strength going forward to resist the movement afoot in the united states, which will effect us and the world. we are all aware of the great threats on so many levels to our freedoms want to the climate, our health care. we want to stand up and be counted. it is not a moment to sit back. this was the slogan of a

campaign that started last year in latin america. womene of crimes against that were sadly availed by the ststates. they did not do anything to fight them. it is something that started in peru and went through many latin american countries. we also feel from here women are living in the states, sadly, we don't feel that situationon chchanges at all. it is a wake-up call. we don't want more victims of gender violence. amy: that is voices from a day without a woman r rally in washington square park in the village in new york city. you can go to democracynow.org to hear more voices from the protest.

democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] vp

♪ laura: treasuring and measurini. this w week on the "the e laura flanders show," if c cities managed to resist donald trump to return to the failed tough on crime policies of the past, can they u useositive affifirmationo improve policing?? we will talk t to the brooklyn borough president and others. hehere on the "the laura flandes show," where the people who say it cannot be donone take a backseat to the people who are doing it. ♪ laura: forward thinking policing, it is not what we are hearing from washington. donald trump campaigned on an old-fafashioned tough on crime